I Hate to Love You
by Haryn-kid
Summary: "Are we still friends?" Haru has never stopped asking himself this question, not ever since he'd found out that Rin had returned from Australia. But after Nagisa comes up with a plan and makes them all go along with it, Haru finds himself wondering something else... "Are we still... just friends?" (Rin x Haru.)
1. A Trip

"HARUUUUU!" came the all too familiar whine. Haru ignored it. No more than a mere second passed before a second wail sounded, much louder and much too close for his liking. "HARUUU!"

He had no choice but to answer the call, and did so with an irritated turn of his head. "What, Nagisa?"

A flyer was thrusted into his face in reply, followed shortly by an excited squeal. "Let's go here! Okay? Okay? I'll invite everyone and stuff. Please?"

Fingers itching to close Nagisa's mouth for him curled instead around the paper, removing it from his face. Holding it out carefully before him, his eyes widened minutely in surprise. "A hot spring resort?"

"That's riiiight!" Nagisa grabbed Haru's shoulders and gave them an excited shake, bright eyes peering earnestly into uncertain, light blue ones. As if staring harder could somehow convince Haru into accepting the offer - more like demand, Haru thought - Nagisa leaned even closer. The unblinking way the younger boy watched him made Haru less than comfortable. Haru edged back into his seat, already disliking where this conversation was going.

"You'll go, won't ya?" Nagisa pleaded. His eyes lit up mischievously. "It's a _hot spring_ resort. A _hot spring_ is like a _pool_."

Haru twitched.

"A _pooool_," Nagisa continued, stretching the word unnecessarily, "with hot _water_."

"There are pools in other places," Haru muttered, angling his face to one side. He stared stubbornly out the window of the classroom, despite the brilliant rays of the afternoon sun shining directly into his eyes. Anything but at Nagisa's childish, pouting face.

"But not _pools _with _hot water_, Haru! _Hot water! A BIG POOL FULL OF IT!_" Nagisa all but shouted the words in Haru's face. "_A __**HUGE**__ POOL!_"

"Shut up, everyone's looking at us," he hissed, but he knew that the boy wasn't going to take no for an answer. Besides... maybe the whole 'big pool' thing did catch his attention, a little. Just a little. _No_. There was still another point he could make, and an important one at that.

"How are we going to get the money? This can't be that cheap."

"You just leave that to me! I've got it _all_ covered!"

_Damn you, Nagisa._

"Weeeelll?" Nagisa sang, but thankfully in a much quieter voice this time. A happy hum rose in his throat and his fingers dug so tightly into Haru's flesh that it made him wince. _This boy must be some kind of sadist,_ Haru couldn't help but think. "Weeell, Haru? You're going, aren't you? Hmm?"

Haru gave a resigned sigh. "Only for the pool. And I don't want you pestering me while we're there."

"Yes!" Nagisa shouted, releasing Haru's shoulders and throwing his skinny arms around his neck. "Now I just gotta ask the others and we can go once the weekend's here!"

"Get _off_ me. And who - " Haru began to ask, but he'd just barely caught the last glimpse of wavy blonde hair before the other boy disappeared, the door slamming shut behind him. Air was pushed forcefully out of Haru's nose to make a 'hnnmph' noise as he slumped down in his seat. _He'll probably just ask Makoto and Rei, anyway... Kou, too, maybe, but that's unlikely. Whatever. _Haru didn't particularly care. Just as he'd told Nagisa, he was only going because of the hot spring pools, not because he wanted to spend extra time with his friends on the weekend.

_Wonder what that'll feel like_... Haru crossed his arms behind his head, stretching his legs out before him. He recalled the caress of the water as his body cut smoothly through it, the rare sense of peacefulness it brought to him, and imagined that mixed with steam, heat, and silence.

It felt nice, even made him look forward to going.

* * *

Haru almost forgot how to breathe. He had to struggle inwardly for air, while acting the usual cool, composed self. "You... did what?"

Nagisa merely grinned broadly and cocked his head to one side. _Playing innocent, are you, you vicious little... _"You heard me, Haru! Aren't you glad?"

Makoto put a hand on Haru's shoulder. "It's a good opportunity to get everyone together again. You shouldn't be so upset that Rin's going, too!"

That was it. The fact that Nagisa had invited _Rin_ was what made Haru suddenly feel an overwhelming sense of dread and anxiety and anticipation all rolled together in one. He didn't even know what to feel now; with both the prospects of going to a pool and seeing Rin again looming ahead, Haru could not begin to guess how he'd feel by the end of the trip. The question was, _why_ it bothered him so much...

Makoto, as always, seemed to know exactly what was going through Haru's mind. "Don't worry about it, alright? We'll all have lots of fun. He might be from a different school and our rival now, but he's still our friend."

_Our last encounter hasn't exactly been _friendly_, _Haru wanted to snap, but judging by the look on Makoto's smiling face, he knew that Makoto knew just what he was about to retort.

"I can't believe Rin actually accepted, though..." Subconsciously his eyes drifted over to Nagisa, who was bouncing cheerfully on the seat beside them. "Nah, I take that back." Haru didn't even want to know what malicious tricks and cunning strategies the manipulative boy had come up with in order to persuade Rin into going with them. It made him shudder just to even think about it.

"Oh man, I'm so excited!" Nagisa squealed. "It's only two days from today. I can't wait! I'll have to bring a camera, and..." On he went about the things he'd have to bring on this trip, and when that was done, on he went about the things he'd have to buy and bring back home. Haru grew rapidly bored with this and soon found his thoughts drifting elsewhere... elsewhere being a certain red-haired boy, whom he wasn't even sure was a friend of theirs anymore.

_Are we still friends?_

The question felt more important to Haru than he would have liked. Back before Rin had left for Australia, Haru knew the answer to that question and that answer never once changed.

_He's not... the Rin I knew anymore._

Rin had changed. Haru himself, though subtle, too had gone through a change. Whether this affected the relationship they had or not was still a complete mystery to Haru. The way they acted around each other whenever they met, the way they spoke to each other... Haru didn't know what to make of it. And it bothered him, really bothered him, even more so now that damned boy Nagisa was dragging them all along with him to some resort.

"Haru?"

Haru looked up. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Makoto laughed lightly. "You seemed to be spacing off. Are you okay?"

Haru snapped his head to the side, away from Makoto's prying gaze. "Yes, I'm fine." How was it that Makoto seemed to know everything that went through his head? It made him want to hit something, or dive into the nearest body of water. A patch of warmth blazed on his cheekbones. _Damn, I really need to get into a pool or something right now. _

"Well, see ya all! I gotta take care of the money and all that!" Nagisa declared. He leaped up from his seat, wobbling past the diminishing crowd of people as the train rocked to a halt. _Thank goodness. Now it's only Makoto that I have to deal with, _Haru sighed inwardly with relief. Nagisa could be a little too much to handle at times.

"Let's go, Haru," Makoto said, and the two of them rose up as well and followed everyone else to the train doors. Once they were outside and well clear of the throng of people heading home, Makoto asked hesitantly, "Does Rin going... really bother you so much?"

One of Haru's shoulders rose and fell carelessly. It bothered him, it made him feel so many things he didn't want to feel, it was something he'd thought nonstop about ever since Nagisa mentioned it... _Word it however you want_.

"Well." The word escaped Makoto's grinning mouth in a puff of breath. "Doesn't it make you happy at all? Excited?"

"Why would I be..." Haru began to say, wishing that Makoto would quit it with the questions about Rin, but the knowing smile made him pause. "Stop smiling like that at me. I'm not _excited _that he's going, I'm not _bothered _either, okay?"

Makoto held up his hands in a gesture of defense. _Mocking me, are you?_ "Okay, okay. I get it."

Haru couldn't resist adding, "It's nothing to get worked up about. And it's none of your business what I think, either. I don't care _who's_ going."

"I believe you, Haru." Makoto chuckled, hands still raised in the air. Only after a moment did he relax and lower them back by his sides. "Just have fun when we go."

"I _will_." Thank goodness the turn that separated their paths was here. Haru was more than eager to get away from every single one of his friends and hide in his bathtub for a little while. "Bye."

"See ya, Haru!" Makoto called over his shoulder. Haru only acknowledged it with a slight nod of his head, stubbornly facing forward. Only when he was sure that Makoto was completely out of sight did he race all the way back to his house. With the speed of an expert at work, he stripped himself bare save for the pair of purple and black swimsuit and flew to the bathroom. Warm water gushed noisily into the tub as he impatiently waited for it to fill it up to the rim.

_Man, that was awful... _A few agonizingly long minutes later, he pulled himself down under the water and stayed there as long as his lungs would allow. His fingers pressed against his forehead, where a throbbing ache was beginning to form, in a gesture of disgust. _It's only going to get worse, too._

It didn't matter what Nagisa said about the 'huge pool full of hot water' or what Makoto said about 'having fun when the time came', or how he had initially felt.

_They'll never let me get out of this._

It was no use. He'd have to endure. Haru definitely wasn't looking forward to the trip now.

* * *

**(Hi everyone, hope you enjoyed that first chapter! I'd have written more but I'm super tired and I really want to get the first chapter published before I change my mind about this entire story. Look forward to the rest assuming that I get around to finishing this!)**


	2. Rin

"Haru?"

Haru blinked. "Huh?"

Makoto laughed. "What's the matter now? I haven't seen you look that moody in a while."

Haru's expression only grew more unpleasant in response. The two remaining days had went by relatively uneventfully but the day of the trip still arrived much too soon. On Saturday morning they all met at the train station. Between trying to shift the ridiculous number of bags in his arms into a more comfortable position and keeping his own balance as he stumbled down the aisle, Nagisa informed the rest that Rin was going to be meeting them at the resort. Something about that bit of news made Haru feel both a little relieved and a lot more anticipative than before.

Haru had been the last to arrive at the train station. Nagisa didn't spare him on the way to their destination. A majority of the ride was spent giving Haru a good scolding ("You can't always keep other people waiting, Haru! I've been here since nine!"), but Haru somehow managed to block out most of it.

The swaying of the train and Nagisa's constant yapping didn't help the churning within Haru's stomach. As much as he would have liked to escape, it was impossible with Nagisa's head leaning on his shoulder and Makoto and Rei blocking the way to the nearest exit. Haru dropped his head back against the window with an audible 'thud' and stared stonily up at the train ceiling, barely shifting from his position for the rest of the ride. It was going to be a long weekend.

* * *

Rin, I'm sorry I hurt you.

_ "You seriously want to be an Olympic swimmer?" was what Haru said instead that day, eyes fixed straight ahead, a frown turning down the corners of his mouth and pulling his eyebrows together._

_ A subtle sideways glance showed him that Rin refused to look at him in the eyes either. "Yeah." The boy's tone suddenly grew sharp. Taken aback, Haru almost took a step away, but held himself still in time. "I'm going to be the _best _swimmer ever. I'll win every race I ever compete in."_

Rin, don't be mad at me.

_ "Good luck with that, then." Haru shoved his hands into his pockets, swinging his head to the other side. Why did it feel so difficult to speak, all of a sudden? Why did it feel as if he'd stayed underwater for too long?_

_ "I'll be going now. Nagisa and Makoto already said their goodbyes." With many tears and smiles involved, Haru imagined. Nothing like this cold exchange that he and Rin were currently having. Haru suddenly envied them, so much that it scared him a little._

_ Rin began to turn away._

_ "Rin," Haru said. The other boy paused, his foot still poised to take a step forward, the first step that would lead him away from Haru for who knew how long. Maybe forever. Haru shoved the thought aside, angry and confused and annoyed all at once. A tense silence filled the vicinity. Haru broke it, but he didn't know what to say - what he _could _say to make everything the way it was before the race. It was hard to think when he felt as if he was drowning. "Rin."_

Rin, winning the race wasn't worth it if it made you this upset.

_"What? I really need to get going."_

Rin, smile for me. I don't want us to part like this.

_"Well? Did you suddenly turn mute or something?" _

Rin, I really -

_"If you're not going to say anything, then I'll just leave." _

Rin, wait -

_The red-haired boy made a noise that sounded like 'tch'. "Seriously. There's something wrong with you." He looked over at Haru at last, his face void of the smile that Haru yearned to see, if only one more time. "Goodbye."_

Don't go.

_"Bye." _

_Haru watched Rin's back vanish into the distance. His hand lifted, but not to wave at the boy that was no longer there. His fingers brushed along his left cheek._

There's strange water running down my face, Rin, and it's not the kind of water that I've always loved. What do I do?

* * *

One of his arms was numb. The other was given a gentle but firm shove. Haru released a grunt of protest.

"Come on, Haru, we're here." Makoto shook his arm again. "Let's go."

Haru didn't remember falling asleep. It was amazing how he'd managed to even fall asleep with all the noise around him. "Ngh," he muttered to show that he'd heard and understood, and slowly lifted himself up. Prickles of pain shot down his numb arm as he picked his way past other passengers and toward the exit, Makoto following close behind. Rei and Nagisa were already outside.

His mouth was dry, Haru found out when he tried to swallow. The back of his head, where it had been bouncing against the window, throbbed with the beginnings of a headache. Just how long had he been asleep?

"... precisely three hours and six minutes should do it, according to my calculations," Rei was saying when Haru and Makoto caught up with them. Rei's glasses was pushed dramatically back up the bridge of his nose as he sighed, "Only the pure, heated liquid of the springs can enhance the charm of the butterfly!"

"You're so weird, Rei," Nagisa said. "That's way too long." Rei went on to retort that there was nothing strange about it, followed shortly by a lengthy speech about beauty.

"Had a nice nap?" Makoto said, falling behind the two and matching Haru's leisurely pace. "You were out for a pretty long time."

"I wouldn't say it was nice," Haru answered, watching the stone steps leading to the resort loom ever closer. He couldn't even see the end of the stairs. His legs ached just thinking about it.

"Really?"

"Mm." He didn't want to talk about it. Haru only remembered snippets of the dream, but that was enough to keep his mind occupied for a while. An unwelcomed vision of red hair and a bitter face stood out most of all, and the sensation of wetness lingered on his cheeks. _I can't believe I'd actually _cried _that day... How embarrassing._

Makoto only smiled.

"Rei, I'll race you!" Nagisa's voice sounded loud and clear. "First one there is a beautiful butterfly!" Haru wouldn't be surprised if the people at the resort could hear him. Rei pushed his glasses up his nose and opened his mouth to reply, but Nagisa had already dumped his luggage and taken off.

"Why, you - " Rei too bolted. Within seconds they had vanished behind the curtain of branches and leaves that hung over the stairway.

Haru stared at the space that they had occupied just moments prior. "Are they stupid or something?"

"Just overly excited. We rarely do something like this," Makoto answered lightly, bending over to gather Nagisa's things for him. "I'll carry these for Nagisa, he'll want them later."

"Sure." Haru started up the steps, leaving Makoto behind. _As long as I don't have to carry them too._

Makoto managed well, considering that he had an armload of Nagisa's useless things along with his own bags. They kept a good pace until Haru found himself slowing without meaning to and breathing a little heavier than necessary. It was a miracle how Makoto was still able to draw in enough breath to say, "This stairway is really long, huh?"

It wasn't even the type of question that required an answer, and so Haru did not give any. Why Makoto even bothered trying to make conversation with something as lame as that was a complete mystery to Haru. He concentrated instead on his breathing and did his best to ignore the sweat sliding down the back of his neck and the soreness within his legs.

Makoto took a second ragged breath and let it out in a pant. "At least these trees provide some shade." He huffed. _Why does he push himself so hard? _Haru wondered, still keeping a few steps ahead of him. "They're really pretty, too, aren't they?" _Huff._ "We're lucky to get to stay in such a nice place."

_We're not even _there_ yet, how would you know if it's nice or not? _Haru really didn't understand Makoto sometimes. How he maintained that easy grin, how he could find enough energy to speak when he could hardly climb up the steps, how he never lost his patience... Haru didn't get it at all. This was enough to distract Haru from thoughts of what was waiting for them up ahead for a while - a while being the time it took for them to get to the top of the ridiculously long stairway. When they finally reached it, nothing could have drawn his attention away from the sight before them.

He hardly noticed Nagisa and Rei, who had arrived there long before them, or Makoto, who was just coming up the stairs behind him. It seemed to him like Rin wasn't paying them much attention, either.

Their eyes locked but no smiles were exchanged.

"Rin." Haru was the first to speak.

Rin wasn't slow to reply. "Yo, Haru."

And so their trip together began.

* * *

**(Thought it'd take me longer to finish this chapter, but I guess not! I think writing short chapters often works better for me than taking a lot of time writing long chapters. Makes it less likely that I'll give up on the story. Anyway, look forward to the rest!**

**On an unrelated note, I was reading High Speed! today, and I'm liking it a lot so far. )**


	3. Roommates

Haru was speechless. Rin appeared to feel the same way because it was a moment before he blurted out, "What's this? Some kind of hovel?"

Haru probably wouldn't have worded it like that, but for once he agreed. The state of this so-called resort was, to put it simply, miserable. The walls looked as if they were on the verge of collapsing and Haru privately thought that the roof wouldn't make it if it rained. It was an eyesore, to say the least, but it at least looked clean.

Nagisa immediately placed his hands on their backs and gave the two boys a shove, to get them moving forward. "It's only the rooms that look like this!"

Haru craned his neck to stare at Nagisa. "I thought you said you had everything covered."

"Well, yeah," he replied brightly, obviously seeing nothing wrong with the situation. "What? I'm not super rich or anything, so I had to make do! This is one of the cheapest rooms they have."

"I bet it's really comfortable inside," Makoto put in optimistically. Haru had a sudden urge to break free from Nagisa's relentless grasp and flee into the mountains.

"Thirty percent chance of raining today," Rei muttered, eyeing the roofs. "If it should fall at this precise angle, then..."

"We're not all staying in the same room, are we?" Rin grunted. Again, it was Nagisa who answered.

"No way! There's not enough space for all of us, even though it'd have been nice..." The blonde-haired boy stared wistfully at the door, but soon snapped his head around to face Rin. "We'll be drawing sticks to see who's staying in which!" Rummaging through his bags as he spoke, Nagisa flashed a brilliant grin. "By the way, Makoto, thanks for getting my bags for me! That was really nice of you. I wouldn't have wanted to run all the way back down and..."

Haru drowned out his words with a massive sigh, and turned away from the rest of them. They'd gone and looked at the hot springs already. Makoto wouldn't let him strip and go soak in peace, for some reason, which made Haru extremely puzzled as that was what they were there for. "You can do that _later_," Makoto had insisted, tugging on Haru's bare arm. He didn't think he could wait so long, especially after seeing the condition of their rooms. Who would have thought that such a fancy - supposedly fancy, anyway - place could also own something so shabby. It wouldn't surprise him if there weren't even any _beds_ inside. There was still some hope for futons, though...

"Here!" Nagisa held out a tin can, sticks of the same length rattling noisily inside it. "I guess we could always play amida to decide, but I brought these this time!"

_He's really prepared, isn't he? It's almost funny,_ Haru thought, but as of right now he was far from amused. Ahead loomed another problem and he could do nothing but hope for the best. _Rei and Makoto are okay... But please not Nagisa, and please, please, _definitely_ not Rin._

"The numbers one and two are written on the ends," Nagisa explained. "One's here." He jabbed a finger at the room they were currently standing in front of. "Two's that one." He pointed in the other direction, a little ways off.

A dark sense of dread filled Haru. They hadn't gone to see room 'two' yet, but even from where he was now, Haru could tell that room was better. Not by much, but better than the hastily piled mess of bricks that they named 'one'. _It's okay,_ he reminded himself. _I'm here for the pool. The hot water. The pool... Damn, I'm worried._

The sticks rattled again; Nagisa was shaking it dramatically. His head swiveled around so that glimmering eyes met everyone's, and the tin can shot out toward the middle of their circle. "We'll all draw at the same time, so it's fair!"

_Room two, not Nagisa or Rin. Room two, not Nagisa or Rin, _Haru chanted silently, as if there was someone out there who could hear and answer his mental prayer. The trees swayed overhead and the leaves rustled loudly. Dappled sunlight flickered wildly across their faces and made the silver tin can glint ominously. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.

Nagisa shook the tin again.

Haru extended his arm and honed in on the stick leaning farthest away from him. He reached a little further and closed his thumb and forefinger tightly around the end. Other fingers jostled his as they fought to grasp the other sticks available.

_Here goes._

"Now draw!"

* * *

"I don't believe this."

"Look, I don't like it anymore than you do," Rin retorted before Haru had even finished his sentence.

"I'm so happy I get to room with you two! This'll be loads of fun," Nagisa gushed. "It's kind of like back when we were kids! Remember when we used to have sleepovers and stuff?"

_Nagisa _and _Rin? In the worst room they had to offer? _Haru wondered if his luck had run out. To get the exact things that he had inwardly pleaded not to get must be proof of that. He bit back a sigh.

Nagisa wasn't anything more than a nuisance at times; he was like a little brother constantly demanding attention. Put him to sleep and Haru could handle it.

Rin, though...

Haru felt his gaze dragging across the room and latching onto the side of Rin's head. His stomach twisted at the sight of the shockingly bright red hair and his pulse didn't feel quite right, like it was a little off. Why his body reacted in such a way was probably due to the none-too-positive feelings Haru had for Rin. That had to be it. To room with his _rival_, whom he'd never felt very comfortable around... It was no wonder he'd feel dizzy with irritation.

"Haru! Rin!" Nagisa's voice snapped him out of it. Almost guiltily, as if he had been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to do, Haru's eyes jumped back to Nagisa. _I was only looking at Rin. _There was no reason for him to feel guilty and so he shoved it all aside, allowing the usual calmness to envelop him. _Quit acting like a kid just because you're rooming with these two here, Haru, and get over it already. _

"Let's have something to eat and then go walking, okay? This place has really nice hiking trails and the scenery's super pretty! And then we can all go to the hot springs in the evening!"

Haru and Rin grunted their agreements in unison, and the two stared at each other in surprise. A very long second passed before they turned away and followed Nagisa out the creaky door.

"Do they have mackerel?" Haru asked as they headed down the sloping path, acutely aware of Rin sauntering close behind them. _Stupid, there's no need to keep reminding yourself that he's there._

"I dunno, maybe! We'll have to find out when we get there."

Haru sighed.

Rin spoke. "What's with you and mackerel? You realize that you actually stink of it?"

Although his tone wasn't exactly warm and bubbly like Nagisa's always was, it wasn't as sharp and cold as Haru had expected, either. He surprised himself by answering the same way he normally would to anyone else. "I like mackerel." The sudden lurch of his innards didn't seem to affect his words. Haru supposed he was hungrier than he had originally thought.

"Tch."

"Yeah, Haru really loves mackerel for some reason! He even has it for breakfast and everything..." Haru wasn't listening to Nagisa's babbling. There it was again - that 'tch' that was so like Rin, acknowledging a fact and yet disgusted by it. His internal organs writhed again.

"...I don't think he smells bad at all, though!" Nagisa finished by the time they had reached... not the restaurant, but room two.

"I thought we were going to eat," Rin voiced Haru's thoughts.

"We are," Nagisa answered right away, his face lighting up as he turned back to face the other two. "Here."

Haru and Rin stared.

"We can't afford the food they sell here," Nagisa laughed, rubbing the back of his neck in a seemingly sheepish way. "So we brought our own! What did you think was in all those bags?"

"Wait just a - " Rin began to protest - probably to claim that _he_ could afford it all and _he_ wasn't about to live the life of some broke schoolboy. Nagisa wouldn't hear any of it. "Get inside!"

Haru obeyed willingly. Rei went up and greeted them, saying that Makoto was preparing the food for them, but Haru hardly noticed. He could smell mackerel.

* * *

"I'm stuffed!" Nagisa exclaimed, flopping back on the floor and giving his stomach a satisfied pat. Haru picked moodily at what remained on his plate.

"Haruuu." Seeing this, Nagisa began to whine. "I'm sorry I had more fish than you, okay?"

Haru turned his head to the side opposite Nagisa. He heard Makoto's amused chuckle and Rei's rhythmic chewing and Rin muttering something like, "You're all fucking crazy."

When Haru glanced back, Nagisa had leapt to his feet and was pointing enthusiastically at the door. "After food, exercise! Let's all go!"

Haru got to his feet. The floorboards groaned underneath his feet as he made his way for the door, without waiting for the others. If he had to go, he preferred going by himself.

"Let me put all this away first..." Makoto's voice followed him to the door, along with the clattering of plates.

"I'll go once I finish this." That was Rei.

"Do you want me to wait for you guys?" Nagisa said. Haru could feel Nagisa's eyes burning holes in the back of his neck, anxious that Haru would leave without them first. "Haru, you wait too!"

He pushed down on the handle with more force than necessary and swung the door open. "Har - " Nagisa's second desperate call was cut short by the loud 'click' of the door shutting.

The distant sounds of birdsong echoed around him. "Haa..." he began to release the sigh he'd had pent up for a while now, relieved to be alone, even if it was just for now.

"Rin - can you go after him? This place is kinda big, he might get lost. I'll help Makoto clean up." Haru froze as his heart struck up a wild rhythm against his chest. The thought of just Rin going after him got his feet moving again, albeit slowly at first. _Rin would never agree_, he told himself. _Nagisa will come after me instead, because Rin would never..._

"If I have to." Rin's voice sounded close to the entrance to the room.

Without considering the situation any further, Haru bolted. Fallen leaves were kicked up and scattered in the wind in his hasty getaway, and knowing that Rin was behind him only made his feet all the faster.

_What am I doing?_ The thought flew through his mind as quickly as his shoes were pounding on the forest floor.

_There's no need to run. _His breathing soon grew irregular, heavy, until he was all but panting. Still he did not slow.

_Why am I running away from Rin now?_

* * *

**((Oh man, it's harder to keep myself from making Rin and Haru throw themselves at each other than I'd thought it'd be. Stay strong, self. **

**I watched the new episode today! I can't believe it ended like that (inwardly freaking out but it's okay) and I'm still hoping for more Rin x Haru moments next time. **

**Anyway, thanks to the people who gave reviews! Reading them made me really happy (the more reviews I get, the faster I write, by the way!)**

**Oh yes, and to those of you who didn't know, amida is a Japanese decision game. I'll shut up now.))**


	4. A Walk

"Ah - shit - " Haru cursed between heavy pants as he slipped and skidded across loose pebbles and moist earth. In his hurry he'd strayed off the well worn path and hadn't given much thought as to where he was going to go. Now he had no idea where he was. Just as Nagisa had predicted. _It's his fault for sending Rin after me_, Haru thought defiantly.

And where was _he_? Sweeping his eyes over the trees, he saw that there was no flash of red among the dizzying splashes of green. He'd probably lost him. Haru finally made his legs stumble to a stop and nearly keeled over. Planting both hands firmly on his knees to steady himself, he sucked in as much air as his lungs would allow and choked it back out again. Haru swiped the back of his hand across his cheek, feeling the sweat and heat burning on the surface.

"Haa..." His breathing was still irregular, but less ragged than before. All he needed was a little rest, then he'd continue on. Unlike his protesting body, his mind was still racing at full speed.

_Why all the running, anyway? _Haru couldn't answer a question that he'd asked himself. Thinking over it now, it was stupid and childish and it made his blood boil to think that he'd have behaved in such a way. He didn't know who he was more annoyed at - Rin or himself.

_I guess I just... don't want to be around Rin._ He somehow managed to convince himself that that was it and made his mind focus on what was around him. There were no dwellings in sight, but the forest here was thin and widespread. Stone steps cut through the earth not far from where he was standing, but they were not the same ones that he and the others had climbed earlier that day. This one looked less used; the stone was rougher, and the path steeper. Haru guessed that it was another way to the resort, which meant that it couldn't be that far away. _I'll just head back and sit in the hot springs for the rest of the day. _He felt drained of energy now, after the adrenaline rush had subsided.

He gulped in one last breath - ready to turn around and make his way back - when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Found you," Rin said.

Startled didn't quite describe how Haru felt. He hated himself for jumping so visibly at the sound of Rin's voice, but the hand remained firmly on his shoulder. "What are you doing - "

"I could ask you the same thing," Rin interrupted, forcibly turning Haru around to face him. "What the hell were you doing, taking off like that? You crazy or something?"

Haru's face felt a little hotter than before, but that might have just been his imagination. It was hard to think clearly with Rin holding so tightly onto him and staring so intently at his sweaty face. Haru instinctively turned his face to the side, obstinately avoiding Rin's glare. Deja vu was what he felt at that moment, strongly reminded of that day when they'd run into each other and Rin had shoved him up against the fence. Was he going to demand something from him again now, too?

"What's wrong with that? I only went for a run. You're hardly one to talk, running around all the time."

Out of the corners of his eyes, Haru noticed Rin baring his pointed teeth. "I don't run _like mad_ when someone comes to keep me from getting _lost_."

"I'm not lost and I didn't run _like mad_..." Haru denied immediately, and wrapped his fingers around Rin's wrist before the red-haired boy could say anything else. "Let go of me, will you? I'm not going anywhere."

The pressure on his shoulder vanished after a few seconds. "Haru." Reluctantly he looked back at Rin, lips pressed into a firm line.

"You really hate me, don't you?"

"Huh?" The sound was made on reflex. The question had thrown him off balance and for a moment Haru wasn't even sure if he had heard it correctly. "What?"

"You heard me." It was Rin's turn to look away. Hands shoved deep in the pockets of his jacket, he turned away from Haru and left him to decide whether to follow or not.

"What makes you think that?" Haru answered his question with a question of his own, forcing his feet to move forward.

"You're avoiding me," Rin said simply.

"Slow down," Haru said as Rin lengthened his stride. They were nearing the stone steps Haru had noticed before now. When Rin acted as if he hadn't heard him at all, something inside Haru snapped and his hand shot forward. "I'm _not_ avoiding you, Rin," he said, something akin to frustration lacing his words. He kept a vice-like grip on the sleeve of Rin's jacket, holding his ground. They were mere feet apart from each other, Rin turned sideways on one side of the top of the narrow stairway, Haru refusing to budge from the other. "I just..."

Rin's crimson eyes shone in the afternoon light. Haru kept his hold on Rin's sleeve, his arm stretched out by the distance between them. His fingers shook. There was something very important about getting his point across that what Rin said wasn't true, and yet he had to make sure that Rin didn't think Haru was fond of him or anything. Haru thought it was all very complicated and had absolutely no idea where to begin.

"Bullshit. You've hardly looked at me, let alone talked to me today. You even ran off when you knew that I was coming out too. You don't act like that with Makoto or Nagisa." Rin's tone turned harsh, almost aggressive. "What's your problem? Is it because we're from different schools and are supposed to be competing against each other now?"

Haru's chest felt tight. He'd felt this before, a long time ago, when he'd had that last conversation with Rin before he left for Australia.

_Well? Did you suddenly turn mute or something?_ He remembered.

_Not this time._

"It's because..." Would it sound strange to Rin if he said 'it's because I don't know how to act around you'? 'Because I don't know what we're supposed to be'? Haru didn't know if that was the case but it seemed most likely. He couldn't think of any other explanation as to why he'd behave in such a way around Rin.

Before he could continue his sentence, which he had unintentionally left hanging in the air as he struggled to connect his thoughts, Rin made that 'tch' noise again. Haru suddenly felt that he knew what was going to happen.

_Seriously. There's something wrong with you. _

Rin's face was occupied by a scowl.

_Goodbye._

Haru couldn't - _wouldn't_ let him say that. Not this time.

He took a step forward just as Rin roughly wrenched his arm out of Haru's grasp.

The ground here was uneven, enough to send an unsuspecting victim tumbling away if they did not watch their step.

Haru's foot knocked against something on the ground. His forceful step forward and Rin twisting away had unbalanced him for a moment, but a moment was enough. Haru caught a glimpse of Rin's eyes widening in shock. Then he disappeared in a blur as Haru tipped backward over the edge of the stone steps. The erratic thumping of his heart filled his ears. Distantly he heard Rin's desperate shout and shoes scraping against stone.

A hand appeared in his line of sight, fingers spread wide apart as it reached out for him. His own hands grabbed frantically for hold on the hand before him, on the lower branches, on the handrails - anything. His fingers swiped through thin air.

"_HARU!_" he heard again, and the hand was gone.

* * *

"_Good job today, Haru." A warm voice greeted him as his head bobbed above the water. Haru took a moment to shake water out of his ears and to tear off his goggles and cap, wincing inwardly in the process. _

_Once he had them off, he tossed them over the side of the pool and placed a hand on the slick surface. Ignoring the hand held out in front of him, he reached with his other arm and dragged himself out of the water. Water streamed off his body, dripping back into the pool, and gathered in small puddles around his palms._

"_You don't have to help me get up every time, Makoto, I..." Haru looked up._

"_Who are you callin' Makoto?"_

"_Sorry," Haru muttered, pulling the rest of his body out of the water. "It's usually Makoto that helps me out, so..."_

_He received a slap on the back. "You're really fast, you know?"_

_Haru didn't reply._

_Rin showed him a mouthful of sharp teeth in a broad smile. "Let's race again soon. I'll beat you, you just wait." He rose from his crouch and folded his arms behind his head. His body was turned away but he tilted his head back to grin once more at Haru._

"_And don't ignore me next time I offer to help you up, jeez."_

* * *

Haru felt sick. Not exactly nauseous, but something - quite a few things, rather - definitely didn't feel right. The black things curling around the trees and sunlight, for example, was definitely out of place. He also felt strangely hot, like there was an extra layer of heat wrapped tightly around him.

The back of his head really hurt, too. Something was pressed up against the spot that throbbed with pain. He wanted to push that thing away but his hand remained still.

"Haru?"

That voice sounded distorted, like only a fraction of it had reached his ears. Haru struggled to focus.

"Haru!"

There was a hand on his shoulder, and he felt his body shake once.

His eyes slid upward.

Above him hovered Rin's face, long strands of hair dangling down from his scalp. His brows were furrowed together and his eyes were dark. A wisp of red hair tickled Haru's nose and he instinctively tried to turn away. A pair of hands held him still, allowing him to shift only the tiniest bit.

"Haru, are you okay?"

He closed his eyes. "Mmn."

The sun was warm on his cheeks and the layer of heat around him was stifling. Haru got the vague idea that he was going to suffocate if he stayed there any longer. He opened his mouth and desperately tried to find cool air to inhale, finding only Rin's breath, tainted with the smell of mackerel. Haru remembered that was what they had for lunch. It gusted noisily against his forehead. Rin was breathing fast.

"My head hurts."

"Of course it does, you moron," Rin snapped, and his face vanished from Haru's line of vision. He must have slumped back because Haru could still feel Rin against him. "You hit your goddam head on the stairs. You're lucky I caught you before you fell all the way down and broke your stupid neck."

"Mmn," he said again. He tried sitting up. The edge of a stone step jutted into his back. To his left and right were Rin's legs, and underneath his arms were Rin's hands, holding him up. Behind him he could feel Rin's breath on his neck. It still sounded too fast, almost as fast as Haru's heart had been beating when he'd slipped. Rin must have slid down along with him and managed to keep him from sliding to his death somehow.

"You smell of mackerel now, too," he noted.

"Did that hit screw up your brains or something?" Rin's voice was thick with disbelief.

"No, I'm fine." Haru blinked the dark spots away and used Rin for support. Twisting around, he grabbed the other boy's shoulder and pushed himself up. "I'm fine," he said again. "Let's go back."

"I swear you're crazy," Rin mumbled something along the lines, and too got to his feet. Haru thought that he was standing a bit too close. Any closer and they'd be right up against each other. The back of his head throbbed and his pulse jumped. Haru debated moving away immediately - running away as he always did - but Rin had other plans.

"Come on," he said, grabbing Haru's arm and pulling him along in a less than gentle manner. For the first time, Haru saw the scrapes on Rin's skin. "We should at least get your thick head checked."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You're hurt, too." Haru glanced again at Rin's arms and hands. There were probably more bruises ready to show up by the end of the day.

"Don't worry about me," Rin said. They didn't speak for the rest of the way back. Haru found his eyes straying back to Rin's hands, then to the rest of him. The wind brushed back Rin's hair, revealing a shallow cut on his cheek that Haru hadn't noticed before.

Rin caught him staring. "What?"

Haru's blank mask broke into a smile. He couldn't have held it back if he'd tried. Rin blinked, startled by the first grin Haru had shown him that day.

"Thanks for that, Rin. For helping me."


	5. The Pool

There wasn't anything particularly special about this 'huge hot water pool' that Nagisa kept going on about. In fact, the heat was uncomfortable and only made Haru miss the cool touch of the swimming pool all the more. What they said about it having 'soothing' and 'relaxing' effects wasn't exactly a lie, but the warmth of it made his body feel hot and heavy and clumsy. Since he'd slid down into the pool, he'd hardly felt like moving at all.

Haru blew bubbles in the water, the hot liquid tickling his nose every time each bubble rose up and popped. He sat alone in the corner, slumped against the edge of the pool, his legs stretched out before him. Another inhale of the steamy air was taken and bubbles rose again.

After everyone else had their turn walking through the forest, they'd all rested for a bit and then went to the hot springs. The others already taken a dip and left, leaving a drowsy Haru behind, with the reminder that he shouldn't stay there too long. Makoto, especially, had made sure to ask Haru about his head and to emphasize how important it was that he didn't soak for too long a period of time.

That was nothing, really, compared to how they had acted when he and Rin got back to the room.

"Haru!" Nagisa had been all but sobbing as he inspected the wound on the back of Haru's head, a bleeding cut that he hadn't realized was there. With Nagisa pushing back tufts of dark hair, he, Makoto, and Rei all leaned in for a closer look.

Haru winced.

"Did you bring a first-aid kit, Nagisa?" Makoto said, his worry more similar to a father's for his child than a friends' for another friend. It made Haru want to cringe.

"What are you going to do, stick a band-aid on my head?" Haru really wished they'd stop fussing over him. He wasn't a kid that needed constant attention and care.

"We'll have to stop the bleeding, anyway," Rei was the one who replied. "That wound isn't beautiful at all."

"Haru's not going to _die_, is he?" Nagisa wailed. Haru flinched away. _No, stupid, I'm not going to die just because I'm bleeding a little and was knocked out for a few seconds._

"Shouldn't we get help or something?" Rin looked to the door, back at the others surrounding Haru, then got up as well. That was more than enough for Haru.

"Stop _worrying_ so much," he said, and though he did not snap or scold, his quiet words were enough to still them for once. Shrugging away from both Nagisa and Makoto, he turned toward the exit. Another minute here and he'd lose his mind completely. "The bleeding will stop in a second." It wasn't as if it was gushing blood or anything; the dull throbs of pain didn't even really bother him anymore.

"Haru, please get back over here - " Haru slammed the door in their faces, cutting off Makoto's plea - only to have Rin, Rin _again_, come out after him.

"What now?" he said when Rin's hand caught his wrist, twisting Haru back to face him. It was at moments like these that Haru despised being shorter than Rin. It made it very difficult for him to glare him down.

Rin said nothing, only advanced toward him. Haru instinctively shrank away, but was unable to escape Rin's tight grasp. Rin took hold of the back of Haru's head - just above the wound - and sent Haru stumbling toward him. "That _hurts,_ you idio - "

"Shut up and let me see, too." Behind Rin, Haru caught a glimpse of Makoto peeking out of the door, Nagisa trying to push his way past him. He soon forgot about them when he felt Rin's fingers, which had once so roughly pushed him into a fence, sift lightly through his hair.

For a split second, a very strange thought shot through Haru's mind: the way Rin touched his hair and scalp... he kind of liked that. It was nothing like how Nagisa had done it just minutes ago.

Then his sanity returned to him and he lifted his arm, ready to shove Rin as far away as possible. _I must have hit my head _really _hard. _

Rin moved away before Haru's hand had even made contact. By that time Makoto, Nagisa, and Rei had already reached them, all of them looking rather perplexed. Rin didn't look at them when he said, "It's nothing to be so concerned about. You're all making a big deal out of nothing."

That seemed to be enough to make them leave Haru alone for a while.

His mind still stuck on the scene, Haru blew bubbles in the water again. Not only that, but he couldn't keep other recent memories from flowing into and spinning around his brain. Like how Rin had assumed that Haru _hated_ him, like how Rin had saved him right afterward, like how...

Haru let out another angry stream of bubbles. He blamed Rin, then mentally slapped himself for allowing himself to be annoyed by something like that. The day wasn't even over yet and his mind and body were both already worn out.

Haru slumped down even further, until all but his nose and eyes were underwater. If he ignored the fact that his skin was turning red and his torso felt cooked, he could almost pretend that he was in a pool. The regular kind, the kind that he could never stay away from for too long. He closed his eyes, darkness replacing the evening sky and the trees swaying above nearby.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard a splash. His eyes flew open and he bolted upright, nearly banging his head again against the side of the pool.

"Oh," sounded a voice that Haru had heard too many times already that day. "I thought you'd fallen asleep."

"As if I could sleep in this."

Rin settled down by him. _There's plenty of space, don't sit so close to me_, Haru wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut and, out of habit, turned his face to the side - the side away from Rin.

"What's wrong now?" Rin folded his arms behind his head, leaning back. His upper body was exposed, Haru saw in his peripheral vision. The dim light and the steam couldn't disguise the fact that Rin was so much more well-toned than he was, and even though Haru had never cared much about the state of his own body before, this irked him quite a bit for some reason. He looked away again.

"I thought you'd gone back already."

"Nagisa said something about playing cards. No way am I joining them on that. And since we're at a hot spring resort... might as well enjoy myself."

Haru felt a sudden urge to blow bubbles again. He didn't move, only sat there and curled his arms around his overly warm stomach. "I see."

They were silent for a moment, neither looking at the other.

Then Haru spoke again, but his gaze was pointed upward. The first stars twinkled merrily down at him, as if offering encouragement. "It's because I don't know who I am to you, or who you are to me now. I don't know how to act so that's why I keep running away." The heat must be getting to his head, he thought vaguely, but it suddenly felt very important that Rin knew the answer to his question before this trip was over. Haru didn't turn away this time when Rin stared at him.

"Huh?" Rin's eyes revealed only confusion.

"You asked me what my problem was. That's my answer."

Rin didn't say anything, but he didn't look away either. Haru noticed that his face, too, was flushed like his own, and thought he looked rather silly. He still didn't understand what was so great about hot spring pools.

"Do you hate me, then, Rin? I'm telling you that I don't hate you, but do you?" Haru seemed to have surprised Rin with the question; he saw the emotion clear as day on the other boy's face. Another insane thought formed in his mind: Rin was much nicer to look at when he didn't frown or scowl.

It wouldn't surprise him either way if the answer was affirmative or negative. Rin had every reason to despise Haru and all of those reasons, in Haru's opinion, were completely unreasonable. Knowing what to expect made it easy for him to stay put, unlike the numerous situations before when he'd wished to do nothing but run away and go for a swim in an actual pool.

Haru dropped his gaze and looked down into the water instead, focusing on the hazy, distorted image of his purple and black swimsuit. Would hot spring water ruin it? He didn't know, but he'd brought other pairs just in case. There were more at home, too, and he could always go buy other pairs...

"No." The word was sighed. Haru watched Rin's reflection in the water. "I don't hate you, Haru. But..."

Haru almost didn't catch the last word; it was whispered and didn't seem to be intended for him to hear. Nevertheless, he wanted to know what came after. An incomplete answer wasn't what he was looking for this time.

"But what?"

Rin's Adam's apple bobbed a little. "Nothing. I just..."

Haru could have smiled then. "Bullshit."

Something about that seemed to spark a change in Rin and send a fierce light streaking across his eyes. The water sloshed around them as Rin slid over, closing the distance between them. Haru hadn't thought it possible, but his face suddenly burned with renewed heat, a heat more fervid than any he'd experienced up to this point. He moved back and found himself trapped between stone and Rin. The sense of wanting to run away washed over him again. _Just when I thought I'd conquered it, too... Damn it, Rin, what are you thinking?_

"Get a - don't come so close," Haru said, but of course Rin didn't listen to him.

"If you had it figured out - " Haru didn't have to ask to know that Rin meant the answer he had just given. " - would you stop running away from me?"

"Just back off, will you? You're too - "

Rin put both hands on either side of Haru's head, palms flat against the stone. "Answer me first, Haru."

With Rin looming over him, Haru found it very difficult to come up with an answer of any sort. He refused to believe that Rin intimidated him. Why did his heart hammer so hard against his ribcage, then, and why did he feel as if he could run for miles when he'd been so sluggish before? _I'm not scared of _him_._

"Yes. I would," he said. "Now will you back off?"

If anything, Rin seemed to be moving closer. Haru had nowhere else to run and this left him only one choice: fight back. "Rin - "

Rin's breath tickled his ear. "Maybe this will help."

_What?_

"What the hell are you talking ab - "

Haru broke off suddenly, interrupted by not words but something else entirely.

The unthinkable thing, the impossible thing, the _stupidest_ thing was - Haru was far from disgusted by the feeling of Rin's mouth pressed hard against his. The first emotion he could clearly register was shock - then something else that terrified him out of his wits. Something that liked and wanted this, something that he could only define as frenzied desire.

_I'm crazy. This confirms it._

He was beginning to make noises, too, noises that he was certain had never left his mouth before, noises that only seemed to spur Rin on. Soft pants and muffled protests filled the air. Haru felt hands on his skin, feeling places that no one else had even come close to touching before. They were wet, too, wet and warm everywhere. Haru couldn't breathe.

When Rin finally pulled away, after the few moments that felt both like an eternity and a millisecond, Haru sank lower into the water. _Soothe me_, he begged it, _calm my heart_. The hot springs did the exact opposite.

"What was that for?" He didn't sound like himself. That voice, husky and breathless, couldn't possibly belong to him. _What the hell did you do to me, Rin?_

"Didn't you like it?"

_Huh?_

"I didn't... I mean..." This lightheaded feeling wasn't helping.

Rin's stare was unsettling and the intensity of it made Haru want to squirm with discomfort. Rin had bared his emotions before him with that single gaze. Frustration, anger, lust - Haru saw it all within those red eyes. "Haru, everything about you pisses me off and it took me a long time to realize why." He leaned closer. A shiver skipped down Haru's spine. "I really... I love you but I hate loving you. I want you all for myself but I can't have you. Not until you've realized and decided for yourself." His breath fell heavy against Haru's cheek, his weight even more so on Haru's body. "So? Does that help? What are we to you, now?"

_What are we?_

"We're..."

Rivals. Friends. Enemies. Swimming buddies.

Any of those would have worked. Any of those would have disappointed Rin and at last have him leave Haru in peace. Just a single word would do, but his mouth refused to cooperate, because the irregular thumping of his heart and the fuzziness of his brain - all of it - suddenly made perfect sense.

"I don't know." A crease formed between Rin's brows.

_Let me see your smile again, Rin._

"But I think I hate to love you too," he said, and his lips found their way back to Rin's.

* * *

**(I hope that wasn't corny or cheesy - ah, fuck it, it probably was. Enjoy the Haru x Rin - ness anyway! **

**I was so tempted to add something gross like "Haru began to vomit into the water" to that last part, just to ruin the moment. I'm a terrible person.)**

**(Update: It... would actually make sense if the story ended here. Boy expresses love, feelings reciprocated, title mentioned, the end, right? That could just be my laziness and current lack of inspiration talking, though. There's still a lot I could write about after this part, so... I DON'T KNOW. D: )**


	6. Bedtime

Things had progressed fairly quickly.

"Ah..." Haru almost cringed at the sound of his own voice producing that lustful moan. Despite that, he couldn't suppress the second pleasured groan that followed. "Rin, don't... Stop it..."

Rin did pause, his hands hovering over the sensitive areas of Haru's flesh, fingers brushing the tingling skin. "You don't want to?"

"It's not that - ah - " Rin leaned over and grazed his teeth ever so slightly across the taut skin of Haru's neck. His breath was hot against Haru's collarbone. "What's the problem, then?"

"We can't..." Haru almost lost himself in Rin's persistent hands, now pulling at his swimsuit and slowly easing it off. Summoning all willpower and strength he had left, Haru made himself shove Rin's hands away. "I said stop it," he said, yanking his swimsuit back up. He could hardly bear to look at Rin in the eyes now, but he made himself do so anyway. "We can't... do it here." Saying that sent a blazing wave of heat up both sides of his face. _We can't do _it_ here? _Haru would never have imagined he'd say something like that.

They were laying against a stone, their bodies out of the water but still dripping wet. The excitement had brought on heat that no hot spring could match, and Haru still felt the delirious rush of it, even with Rin's hands off him.

Rin's face, once so frustratingly hard for Haru to read, now screamed: _Stop pushing me away, Haru! I want to fuck you right here and now and nothing's going to stop me!_

That expression was scarier than anything Rin had shown him before. Haru was quick to blurt out the first thing he could think of. "The room. We can... go there. But not..."

Rin got up. "Hurry, then, while we're still in the mood."

Haru wanted to shrink back into the water. Just imagining what treatment was waiting for him when they got back... Haru felt a shiver again, despite the warmth. The strange thing was, it made him feel hot all over right afterward - the kind of hotness that seemed most dominant around his groin and interfered with his ability to think clearly. Still he tried to protest.

"I don't think we should - "

Rin put his hand on Haru's crotch and stroked downward. "Ah - " The touch elicited another salacious moan from Haru's mouth.

"Shut up and let's go, Haru," Rin murmured into his ear, latching his teeth onto Haru's earlobe. Haru squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the small pricks of pain. "I can't wait much longer."

It was both a good and bad thing that their room wasn't too far away. Hurrying through the shadows, with Rin stealing kisses and sneaking in touches, Haru grew all the more convinced of two things.

The first thing was that this couldn't be a good idea. They were on a trip with other _friends_, and if they ever found out the lewd progression that had taken place... Not only that, but Haru was apprehensive of something else as well, not that he'd ever admit it. When guys did _it_, didn't they use the 'back door'? Haru had a feeling that he knew which roles he and Rin would take if that ever happened.

They reached the room. Before Haru even had a few seconds to catch his breath and try to think things through, Rin had shoved him inside and pushed him down on the floor. Rin clambered on top of him. Both of them were breathing hard.

The second thing Haru was sure of was that he no longer cared.

Haru felt Rin's mouth move roughly against his, something warm and moist slipping past his teeth. _His tongue? _

Then the lights flickered on.

"Haru? Rin?"

They flew apart, Haru not daring to even breathe. Clumsily he scrambled further away from Rin and pressed his fingers over the lower portion of his face. He'd completely forgotten about Nagisa, and by the looks of it, so had Rin.

"Oh!" Nagisa, whose back was still facing them, didn't seem to notice anything amiss. Haru clenched his jaws and let the air he'd been holding escape in a hiss through his nose. Hand curled into a fist, he rubbed at his eyes with his knuckles and turned around. "You guys are back - " His jaws gaped open in a yawn. " - late."

Haru didn't trust himself to speak.

Once his bleary eyes opened wide and focused on the scene, Nagisa blinked rapidly in confusion.

_How are we going to explain this?_

"You guys shouldn't sleep in your swimsuits." Nagisa burst out laughing and bounced over to Haru, then to Rin. "Look - you're both still wet. Go change then sleep! There's only one futon left so you might have to share... Unless one of you doesn't mind sleeping on the floor." His smile widened. "Or one of you could sleep with me!"

Haru tried not to collapse with relief. _I'm so glad Nagisa's an idiot_.

"I'll go change," Rin said brusquely, and he left the room.

Nagisa gave Haru a nudge. "You go too!"

Haru looked away. "I'll go after... after Rin's done."

"Suit yourself!" Nagisa moved back to the other side of the room and flopped down on his futon, his limbs spread wide apart. A moment later, he twisted around to face Haru. "Today was a lot of fun, wasn't it, Haru?"

Nagisa's wide, earnest eyes and the way he stared right at Haru with them made Haru wonder if he really hadn't seen them like _that_ after all. "Sure," he said. "Go back to sleep."

"But I'm not tired anymore," Nagisa complained.

"You will be if you don't go to sleep now." Haru was supposed to be glad that Rin wouldn't get things his way, with Nagisa there too. His emotions felt off-kilter and he didn't know what he was supposed to do about it.

"But I can't sleep. And you two _finally_ got back! You missed out on our game..."

_Blame Rin for that._

"...but we can still play again tomorrow..."

_What will Rin do to me tomorrow?_

"...time really flies by, huh? It's Saturday night already and we'll all have to go back tomorrow..."

Haru's heart lurched. _What happens after this trip? Do we just... forget about what we did today and pretend nothing ever happened?_

"...we should all go on another trip after this! I was thinking, we could go camping somewhere this time..."

_Another trip?_

_ With Rin?_

"...there are bruises on your neck and stuff. How did ya get those? You already hit your head today, you should be more careful..."

Haru's cheeks blazed pink.

"Go to sleep already." The fact that it was so late didn't seem to affect Nagisa's incessant chatter. _How did Makoto and Rei get rid of him in the first place?_ Haru could see in his mind's eye Nagisa begging to leave, pleading for just one more round of cards, and clinging onto Rei and Makoto relenting at last.

"But I'm not - " Nagisa's attention flitted elsewhere. Rin had returned. "Great! Now you go change, Haru!"

Haru didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

By the time Haru was done changing, it was once again dark inside the room and the only sounds he could hear were Nagisa's snores and Rin's light breathing. Just as he'd hoped - he'd taken an unnecessarily long amount of time changing just so he could avoid another conversation.

Then there was the matter of where he was to sleep. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Haru took a look around and considered his options.

To his right was Nagisa, looking innocent as can be, with his mouth wide open, eyes closed, limbs spread all over the place. Haru would not be surprised if Nagisa kicked or talked in his sleep.

To his left was Rin, who had chosen to set up his own futon rather than sharing one with Nagisa. Haru still hadn't ruled out the possibility that Rin would ravage him in his sleep.

He debated sleeping on the floor in a corner far away from both of them. Haru had barely just placed his foot forward when Rin's whisper drifted through the darkness. "Oi. Haru."

Haru's heart ricocheted madly around within his chest, bounding all the way up to his throat and lodging itself there. "Y - yeah." He struggled to steady his voice, also keeping it low so as to not wake Nagisa back up. "What?"

There was the sound of something shuffling around, and the vague dark shape that was Rin lifted one corner of the blanket and patted the space beside it. "Sleep with me."

"I think, uh - "

Rin didn't give him a chance to finish. "Get over here, or I'll bring you over myself."

The cold floor chilled Haru's bare feet when he changed course and went to Rin instead. _I'm going to die at this rate_, he thought, resisting the urge to place a hand over his raging heart. _Well. As long as the blood doesn't rush... elsewhere, it's perfectly fine..._

"If you touch me like that again, I'll - I'll - " Haru's whisper stuttered to a halt as he struggled to come up with a decent threat. Still reluctant and yet unwilling to leave, Haru hesitated at the side of the futon. It was an internal war between his head and heart.

"You'll what? Do I have to experiment to find out?" Rin's hand flew at him and caught his wrist, yanking him down. As hard as he tried to right himself, Haru toppled over anyway and landed on top of Rin. Strong arms enveloped him and they rolled over, Rin's weight pressing down on Haru. Rin leaned closer and Haru felt the tips of the red hair stroke his skin.

To Haru's surprise, Rin pressed a light kiss to his cheek and murmured, "Relax. It's not like we can do anything with Nagisa here. Not unless..." He paused and drew back a few inches, as if thinking carefully about something. A devilish smile curled his lips. Haru wished his pants were looser, but for once, Rin didn't seem to notice what was going on down there. "Nah. It's not fun if you're quiet throughout the entire thing."

"Get off me, then." Haru was glad the darkness disguised the red coloring his face.

"Goodnight." Rin rolled back to his original spot and tossed the blanket over them both. Within moments, he had drifted off to sleep, snoring audibly.

Haru closed his eyes as well and waited.

And waited.

He twitched.

_How the hell am I supposed to sleep with _Rin _right next to me?!_

* * *

Haru didn't remember falling asleep. It must have been a dreamless and short sleep, because when his eyes fluttered open again they ached with tiredness and it was still dark inside.

There was something heavy on his waist and legs. Haru must have turned over in his sleep, he realized. A patch of skin on his neck was warmer than the rest, heated by Rin's slow, steady breathing -

"Rin!" The hushed hiss was roughened by the dryness of his throat. He tried to swallow.

Rin shifted closer and buried his face in the crook of Haru's neck. His hand groped for something to hold onto. Finally it latched onto Haru's shirt, twisting it within his fingers. Haru tried to squirm away, but Rin refused to let go and held Haru down with his leg, draped across Haru's lower body. "I told you," the lazy mumble came from behind him. "Not going to do anything."

"This is _doing _something, you - " Rin clapped his hand over Haru's mouth and cut short his hissed sentence. Something hard and solid pressed into Haru's back, sending a shiver flashing down his spine. _Is that...? No way. _Haru couldn't believe that Rin could _still_ be aroused at this ungodly hour.

"Just for now," Rin murmured. "This is okay."

Haru let out a shaky breath.

"I like this too..." Rin's breathing slowed again.

Haru waited a few moments. Rin didn't budge. "Rin?"

The only response was deep breathing, accompanied by Nagisa's light snoring. Haru shut his eyes and, spurred on by some impulse that must have been a result of exhaustion, reached behind him. His fingers brushed Rin's hair. It felt softer than it looked. He spoke so softly that he could hardly hear himself. "What am I doing..."

His eyes opened a crack. "Um." If possible, his voice grew even quieter. "Goodnight then, Rin."

Haru felt Rin smile into his neck. _Not asleep after all, huh._

That was okay.

* * *

**(Thank you all for the reviews! I'd probably have stopped at chapter five but then I felt it was still incomplete and your reviews really encouraged me to keep writing. And it took me a lot longer this time because I had writer's block. Blargh.**

**This chapter is making me confused. Still rated T or should it be rated M now? There's no actual sex or anything but... Help.)**


	7. In the Morning

"Oh, _Haru..._"

Rin's moan ended abruptly and his eyes squeezed shut, his face red and damp with sweat, his teeth clenched together in agonizing bliss.

"Ah... _Ngh!_"

Haru drank in the sight of Rin with his face turned to the side, his hands clawing desperately at the wet sheets, sultry groans slipping past his lips. He moved again.

"_Haru..._ Ah..." Rin's half-lidded eyes, gazing so lustfully up at him, made another rush of mad desire coursing through his entire body. Haru especially liked it when Rin moaned his name. He closed his eyes for a second and let out a shaky pant.

"Say it again," he whispered hoarsely, tightening his grip on the bedspread on either side of Rin's head. His fingers closed around a lock of Rin's hair, tugging lightly on it. _Take that, Rin, I'm the dominant one now!_

"Ha... Ha_ru..._ Nnm." Haru muffled Rin's murmur with a passionate kiss. Their tongues met and Rin's hand wound through his dark hair.

"Haru..." he whispered again, once Haru allowed his mouth to move freely again.

"_Haru..._"

"_HARU!_"

That didn't sound like Rin.

"_HARUUUU!_"

Haru awoke, drenched in sweat and something that was also wet but most definitely not perspiration. Rapidly blinking the sleep away from his eyes, he ignored the second whine coming from above him and lifted the blanket.

"Haru, I had no idea you still wet your bed!"

Haru let the blanket fall back and held a hand over his eyes. _Not happening. Not happening. I can't hear you, Nagisa, I'm not listening._

He sensed Nagisa leaning closer to him, probably to better inspect the sodden mess he had created.

"There's pee all over the place, you know," Nagisa commented.

Haru flushed.

"Good thing Rin got up before you. He went to get Makoto and Rei. I was really disappointed that you didn't sleep with me, but now I'm kind of glad!" Nagisa's giggle was close to his ear.

"I'll clean it up," he muttered, silently begging Nagisa to leave him alone.

_Not happening! _was what Haru heard when Nagisa continued, "You should have gone to the toilet before you went to bed."

"Okay, Nagisa."

"Look at you! It's gonna be tough getting all that out."

"I know, I'll manage."

Haru lowered his hand, only to see Nagisa wink at him. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you wet your bed. Not Makoto or Rin or Rei or anyone!"

"Thanks."

Both of them were startled by the slamming of the door. "Is Haru up yet?" Rin's voice drifted closer. "Get his lazy ass out of bed; Makoto and Rei are coming soon." He sounded close, very close now, almost as close as Nagisa was. There was a pause. Haru stared stubbornly at anywhere but the other two beside him. It was especially difficult today to look at Rin in the eyes.

"_Damn_. What happened to the blanket?"

Nagisa leapt to Haru's rescue. "I accidentally spilled water on it!"

"Water...?" The very tips of Haru's ears burned, but thankfully it seemed that Rin was willing to let it go. For now, at least.

Of course, Nagisa couldn't help but feel guilty about lying.

"Well that's not exactly - I mean - it's water, but..." Haru chanced a peek over at Nagisa. His bed hair stuck up in all directions, tufts of blond hair sticking out where they usually lay flat. He looked close to tears. "It's water!" he finally finished, wailing the last word and scrambling to his feet. "Haru will wash it later!" Nagisa fled, flinging this last sentence behind him on his way out.

Haru closed his eyes. _I'm still dreaming. I must be._

"How'd you sleep last night?" It sounded like a casual question. Haru considered ignoring him completely and get around to washing the damn sheets. _Crap, I'll have to clean my clothes too..._

"Fine." Haru looked away, but he could still hear the self-satisfied smirk in Rin's next statement.

"Had good dreams?"

Haru wanted to die.

Rin pushed at Haru's shoulder, unable to refrain from laughing hysterically any longer. "Jeez, it's written all over your face - " He gulped for air, clutching at his sides. " - and _water_, too - _water_ - "

"Shut _up_, Rin."

"_Haru's going to wash it later -_ "

"I said _shut up!_"

Rin grabbed the clean corner of the blanket and pulled it back, tossing it aside to uncover the rest of Haru.

"For fuck's sake, Rin - " Haru started, unable to decide whether he wanted to hit Rin or himself more. Rin shoved him to the floor, pressing his wrists flat against the chilly surface. Contrasting the cold was Rin's body heat, much too hot against his own body, especially after that particular dream.

"So? What were we doing?" Rin's groin was close to Haru's, so close that they'd brush if Rin had chosen to move any closer. Haru's legs were spread apart by Rin's body between them, and that only made him feel all the more vulnerable.

"Get _off_!"

"Not until you've described it to me in full detail."

"We don't have time for that, you moron - "

"The others will wait. You're supposed to be _washing_ your _wet _sheets, too." Rin lowered his head. "Besides, we're finally alone again." His tongue protruded from his mouth and slowly, slowly he licked along the curve of Haru's neck.

Haru tried to free his wrists from Rin's vice-like grip, to no avail. "It wasn't anything like this," he muttered under his breath. Rin caught every word and his smirk only broadened.

"What was it like then? Like this?"

"_Stop it -_ " he snapped, only to be interrupted by his own cry of "aah". It sounded much too loud and for a moment he froze, wondering if the others outside had heard it. Nothing moved save for the smooth strokes of Rin's fingers and tongue, but Haru was far from relieved.

"You're really wet here, aren't you," Rin said, staring unabashedly downward. Haru glared up at him, fully meeting his eyes for the first time - only to feel something else press down against his crotch. "Damn, Haru, you're so cute when you're mad."

"Get off."

"C'mon, what was it like?"

"_I _was the one on top, okay? Will you get _off_ me now?"

It took a full minute for Rin to calm down. By the time he'd finished wiping the last of the tears from his eyes, Haru had squirmed out from underneath him and crouched off to the side, ready to bolt if Rin showed any signs of aggression. "You," Rin managed to choke out. "On - on top - "

It took another minute for the hysterical laughter to subside.

"Done?"

Rin took one look at him and rolled over on his side, beating his fists against the floor. "You really are so _damn_ cute, Haru," he gasped, either unaware or uncaring of the wet sheets he'd rolled on top of.

Haru waited another agonizingly long minute. "Done now?"

"I think so," Rin panted, amusement still vivid on his face.

"Get out, then."

"I'll help you clean up."

Haru buried his flaming face in his arms. "I don't need your help. Besides, you'll just laugh at me the entire time."

"I'm just..." The floorboards creaked and soon enough, Haru felt a hand on his shoulder. It slipped through the gap his arms made and caressed his cheek. Fingers, familiar now to him, found his jaw and guided it upward, away from the safety of his arms. For once, he didn't try to resist.

Rin was still grinning stupidly. "I don't know. I'm so happy for some reason."

Haru blinked and frowned at the space beside Rin's head.

"Was that the first time?"

Haru didn't want to answer.

"C'mon, Haru, or I'll sexually assault you again."

Haru twisted out of Rin's hold. "I'll scream."

"Save that for when we finally get to fuck."

Haru couldn't understand why he liked this moron so much.

"Just - leave me alone already." He sounded less firm than he'd have liked.

"Aw, Haru." Rin's face was too close to his again. "You don't mean that, do you?"

"I do. How many times do I have to tell you to get _out_?"

"Just answer that last question and I'll leave." Rin's voice was earnest. _Why the hell is he so curious about a sexual dream?_

"What, the one about if it was... my first time?"

"Yeah."

Haru moved so that he couldn't see Rin anymore. Rin would probably laugh himself silly when he heard Haru's answer. "I - well - yeah. First time having a, you know, lewd dream like that." He prattled on, "That was only because - because you were harassing me last night, so - "

More creases formed between his eyebrows. "So - "

Rin stopped him with a kiss.

When he finally pulled away, Haru saw through a daze that Rin's shark-like teeth were flashing in a grin. His hand came down on the top of Haru's head, giving it a less than gentle rub. "I'm glad it was about me, then."

Haru pushed Rin's hand away and whipped his head to the side. "I never said it was - "

"Oh, shut up, _top_."


	8. Back to You

"It's too hot," Haru said.

"It's _supposed_ to be, Haru!" Nagisa giggled, rocking back and forth on his heels with his arms curled around his knees. The steam and water swirled around him, then stilled again.

It was early afternoon. Haru hadn't wanted to go back to the hot spring pool at all, preferring instead to stay in the shabby dump they called a room for the rest of the day - especially after that little bed-wetting incident - but Nagisa was persistent as usual.

"Don't make me tell everyone else about how you peed in the night, Haru," he'd said.

_What happened to the Nagisa that felt guilty about lying?_

So he went along.

"Anyway..." Rei was saying now, instinctively reaching upward for his glasses, only to find his fingers pushing at empty space. His hand fell back into the water with a splash. "_Why_ aren't you wearing anything?" He seemed to want to glance pointedly in Nagisa's direction, but thought better of it and averted his gaze. Nagisa, on the other hand, was far from embarrassed.

"To fully enjoy the experience, obviously!" Nagisa leaned back, stretching his legs out, baring everything he had for the world to see. "I've never tried skinny dipping in a hot spring before."

"I still don't think you should," Makoto admonished him gently, smiling in a helpless manner all the same. _That's Nagisa for you_, Haru guessed he was thinking, exasperated and amused by his silly antics.

"Don't worry," Nagisa reassured him. "No one can tell, anyway, with all this steam and everything. And we're the only ones here!"

"For now," Rei put in.

"No one will _mind_, I tell you. You should try it too, Makoto!"

"Wha - me?" Makoto's face turned dark red. "I'd never - that's something only you would do!"

"You haven't even tried it yet, so you don't know if you'll like it," Nagisa argued. "It really feels much nicer without all that restraint around your crotch."

"Restraint... around your crotch?" Rei repeated slowly.

"Yeah, like, it feels more comfortable if your di - "

Makoto splashed water at Nagisa before he could finish speaking. "I don't even know what to say to that."

"Hey!" Nagisa held his arms up in defense. "We're not supposed to have a water fight here - "

"Says the guy who skinny dips in a hot spring pool," Rei interrupted.

"That's totally different," Nagisa protested, pushing sodden hair out of his eyes. He turned suddenly to Haru, who caught a glimpse of something in the water that he didn't especially want to see when Nagisa's legs shifted. "Right, Haru? You strip all the time when you see a pool!"

"That's different," Makoto tossed Nagisa's words back at him, laughing, though not unkindly.

"You guys aren't being fair," Nagisa whined, slouching down even further. That was the last Haru heard before he left them to their chatter and sank down into the water. It closed over the top of his head, enveloping him completely. His hair swirled in the water for a moment then drifted gently, bobbing with the occasional movement. The others' voices blended together and their bodies blurred, and Haru closed his eyes.

It wasn't darkness he saw, but a sight he'd soon grown familiar to, having envisioned it time and time again these past few days. To think it made him feel uncharacteristically guilty but satisfied - and very pleased. It didn't matter that there were others around him when he thought about Rin; they were too busy with their jabbering to wonder what Haru could be so preoccupied by, anyway. It also didn't matter that Rin was also present, silent for once but always so _there_, always lingering at the edges of his vision or his mind.

Right now, he was the unwavering center of both.

Haru couldn't help himself.

He could feel Rin.

It was only their legs that brushed occasionally, whether by accident or on purpose, Haru could not tell. They were not even sitting very close to each other; Nagisa and Makoto were nearer to Haru than Rin was. Still their skin managed to make contact, however brief. The others never seemed to notice, but every time it happened Haru could not have been more aware. The tingles that shot through his flesh and the immediate reaction of his heart were more than enough.

Perhaps it was merely another effect of the hot spring, but Haru could not help but notice how nice Rin's skin felt. Smoothened and softened by the water, turned a shade of pink by the heat...

Haru felt a surge of what seemed to be excitement, so powerful and so sudden that it made his chest feel tight and his body shiver a little. His fingers pressed at the near invisible indents and lines in the bottom of the pool. Suddenly he found that he urgently needed to take a breath, even though he normally would have been able to hold it for much longer than that.

His head broke the surface of the water and he inhaled slowly through his nose, feeling water lap at the bottom of his ears. _Don't look._

His eyes didn't obey. They opened a fraction and flickered to the side, where Rin lounged against the side of the pool.

Dimly he heard Makoto's comment about how much fun this trip was and how they should all do this again sometime. Haru wasn't sure, because Rin's hair was wet and dark and clung to the back of his neck, because what used to be tan all along Rin's jawline and ears and neck was now dark pink, and because water rolled down Rin's chest and sides in glistening streams.

Something about that was extremely distracting.

Almost a little reluctantly, Haru returned to the safety and calm of the water, ignoring how hot his head felt when he sank in. He wondered why he resisted every time Rin made a move on him. Eyebrows pushed together, he let a stream of bubbles escape from his mouth.

Distantly he heard splashing, followed by a jumble of voices. Someone's fingers touched his bare shoulder and although he was somewhat startled, he did not jump and instead sat up.

He swiped the back of his palm over his face and looked up. It was Makoto.

"Haru, want to go? I think Nagisa's finally gotten tired of this," Makoto said, his eyes curved in merriment. As if to prove his point, Nagisa immediately clambered out of the pool, butt naked and ready to go.

"What are we doing when we get back?" Haru had a feeling that Rin was watching the two of them, but he didn't look over to check. It made him feel unusually nervous.

"Well... we still have a while yet, so I suppose Nagisa'll want to play some more games to pass the ti - "

"I'll stay." Haru saw Makoto's mouth curl upwards in yet another grin before he went back underneath the water.

_Later, then, _was what Haru made out from the distorted sounds that traveled through the water and to his ears. There was splashing, laughter, then silence. Haru kept his eyes closed.

Just when he thought he couldn't hold his breath for a second longer, a source of air was passed to him in the form of Rin's mouth. A firm hand cupped the side of his face, tugging it forward.

Haru choked and shoved Rin away.

"You okay?" He heard when he finally resurfaced and caught his breath, panting heavily. Haru emitted a puff of air and looked to the side.

"I would've been fine if you hadn't done that."

"I'm sorry."

Haru glanced back. One corner of Rin's lips was pulled up in a roguish grin. Haru stared for a second too long and made himself look away a moment too late, but that wasn't enough attention for Rin.

"How do you think we should spend the last few hours of our trip?" Rin's tone sounded as it had right before he'd gone ahead and attacked Haru last evening, but he was holding back now. Haru judged the distance from where he was sitting to the steps that led out of the pool.

"Swimming, but there obviously isn't a swimming pool here..."

Haru saw it coming. Rin moved slowly this time - sensually, even, Haru admitted as his stomach gave a nervous lurch - and something about that captivated him enough to make him stay where he was for the time being.

"You can do better than that," Rin said, his voice a low purr, his hands spreading wet warmth across Haru's bare torso. Haru almost trembled and had to grit his teeth to stop any noise from escaping when Rin teased the more sensitive bits of flesh.

"Are you seriously trying to be seductive?" he replied, as if Rin's body was not easing him back against the wall, as if Rin's hands were not roaming wherever they could reach.

"Nn_mf_." Haru wanted to slap himself square in the face. All that jaw-clenching did nothing to hold back the sound, teased out of him by Rin's tongue, caressing and moistening his own.

He grabbed at Rin's shoulders, his original intention being to push him away again, but Rin seemed to take it to mean: _I want more, now! _

The space between their bodies closed, as did what little space remained between the wall and Haru's back. He found himself actually being pushed _upward_, rather than back now - and where did his swimsuit go?

"Rin," he gasped, eyes flickering back and forth between the disappearing purple and black fabric and Rin's eyes, alive with passion. His knees had somehow been shoved up to level with Rin's arms, and his legs were curled around Rin's upper body, exposing... Haru didn't even want to think about it. Rin was holding him up. Haru's hands were still locked on Rin's shoulders, but there was something else he was much more concerned about.

"D - Don't look," he snapped between heavy breaths, scrambling for a better hold when Rin held him higher up still, slamming Haru into the wall with primal ferocity. Haru did not like this position all, and the fact that he was stark naked before a very dangerous, very desperate Rin made him shiver uncontrollably again. "Put me down, Rin - "

"I... really want to... do it with you," Rin breathed in Haru's ear, teeth grazing the tip. Haru tried to whip his head around but Rin's teeth were clamped firmly over his ear, tugging and nipping. It wouldn't surprise him if Rin had drawn blood. Haru screwed up his face in distress and he let out a soft 'unh' of pain. "Ever since..." Rin trailed off. he released Haru's ear and lowered his head, sliding his nose slowly across a tender bit of flesh along Haru's neck. "Mmn. I just... want you, Haru."

_I said I wouldn't run away. _

Haru thought about that. Rin's mouth had moved back to his, licking, shifting, panting with increased urgency. Haru could barely get another thought in, much less a spoken word. "Mmf - Rin," he whispered once he finally got the chance, when Rin's mouth slid down to the middle of his throat, forcing his face to turn upward.

"Rin. You can... have me."

"What - for real?"

"But... no sex. Please." He couldn't help but close his eyes in embarrassment.

"Damn, Haru."

Rin listened and made the most of it, anyway.

* * *

They lounged side by side in the water, red-faced but content. Even Rin seemed to have gotten his fill, despite Haru's refusal to take it all the way. When Haru could finally breathe normally again, he said, "Rin... Why did you agree to come?"

Simply, honestly, Rin answered, "Nagisa said you'd be there."

Haru blinked.

The roguish grin returned and Rin pinched a lock of Haru's dark hair, spinning it around his index finger. "Don't believe me?"

Haru only looked away, but he had no intention of escaping this time, not ever, because next time he ran, it would be straight to the ever aroused beast that was Rin: his rival, his friend, and the one person he hated to love.

THE END

* * *

**(****So that's it, you guys! Shout-out to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed my first Free! fanfic! Thank you all!)**


End file.
